1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a portable terminal, including a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) phone, a game phone, a chatting phone, a camera phone, an MP3 phone, a cellular phone, a Personal Communication System (PCS), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), and a Hand Held Phone (HHP), and in particular, to a self-cradling type portable terminal adapted to be used conveniently in a DMB mode or camera mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, “portable terminal” refers to an electronic apparatus that a user can carry to perform wireless communication with a desired partner. As a means of further facilitating portability, designs of such portable terminals are increasingly more compact, slim, and light, and are also increasingly providing multimedia services, having a much wider variety of functions. In particular, future portable terminals are expected to incorporate greater multi-functionality and be capable of multi-purpose utilization, as well as to be more compact, light, and capable of being modified to be suitable for various multimedia or Internet environments.
Conventional portable terminals may be classified into various categories according to their appearance, such as bar-type portable terminals, flip-type portable terminals, and folder-type portable terminals. The bar-type portable terminals have a single housing shaped like a bar. The flip-type portable terminals have a flip rotatably coupled to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge device. The folder-type portable terminals have a folder connected to a single bar-shaped housing by a hinge device in such a manner that the folder can be rotated to fold on or unfold from the housing.
Portable terminals may also be classified into neck wearable type portable terminals and wrist wearable type portable terminals according to the position or way in which users put on the portable terminals. The neck wearable type portable terminals are worn around the user's neck using a string, and the wrist wearable type portable terminals are worn around the user's wrist.
In addition, portable terminals may be classified into rotation-type portable terminals and sliding-type portable terminals. In the rotation-type portable terminals, two housings are coupled to each other in such a manner that one housing rotates to be opened or closed relative to the other while they face each other. In the sliding-type portable terminals, two housings are coupled to each other in such a manner that one housing slides along a longitudinal direction to be opened or closed relative to the other housing. These variously classified portable terminals can be easily understood by those skilled in the art.
Meanwhile, conventional portable terminals now tend to transmit data at a much higher speed in addition to providing a basic voice communication function. In other words, according to increased consumer demands, recent portable terminals tend to provide services using a wireless communication technology capable of transmitting data at a much higher speed.
Recent portable terminals also tend to be equipped with a camera lens to obtain video signals for transmission. Current portable terminals have an external or embedded camera lens module, which enables a user to perform video communication with a desired partner or to photograph desired objects. However, when a conventional portable terminal is to be cradled at a slant, a separate cradle is necessary. This is an additional economic burden on the user.
Particularly, in a DMB mode for watching various mobile images, the display device must be cradled at a slant and stereoscopic sound must be provided for realistic watching. However, it is inconvenient to cradle a conventional portable terminal even when a separate cradle is used.
Furthermore, conventional portable terminals have a camera lens module fixed in a predetermined position on their body. This means that it is inconvenient to use them in a camera mode for photographing mobile images or in a self-shot mode. Therefore, it is requested to provide a portable terminal having a self-cradling function so that the camera lens can rotate for convenient use.